NAME: Howard Roughan ROGIN? RUFFIN?: Actually, it’s pronounced "Rowan" BEFORE BECOMING AN AUTHOR: Advertising. Rose from lowly jr. copywriter to highly stressed creative director while teetering perilously close to becoming a complete and utter hack. BUT SERIOUSLY: I wouldn’t have been able to write a single chapter let alone an entire novel without my advertising background. CURRENTLY RESIDE IN: Ridgefield, Connecticut MARRIED TO: Christine (10+ years). A former foreign-currency trader who initially seduced me with corporate skybox seats for every major sporting event in the New York Metropolitan area. I never stood a chance. OUR PRIDE AND JOY: Trevor, our son. MY ALMA MATER: Dartmouth. IMPORTANT LESSON LEARNED THERE: Take professors, not courses. MY COFFEE: Cream, no sugar. MY TEAM: Yankees. MY NIGHT STAND: Can’t You Get Along With Anyone? by Allan C. Weisbecker FAVORITE FOODS: clams posillipo, grilled rib-eye, and my mother-in-law’s famous noodle casserole. FAVORITE FILM: "The Candidate" with Robert Redford. FAVORITE QUOTE: "There is no such thing as absolute certainty, but there is assurance sufficient for the purposes of human life." - John Stuart Mill OBSCURE CLAIM TO FAME: Manhattan League Pinball Champion, 1990 BIZARRE ALLERGY: Most apples, some nuts, and all avocados make my inner ears itch. Very annoying. Especially because there’s no remedy. BEST THING ABOUT BEING AN AUTHOR: Feedback from readers (as opposed to critics), good or bad.